The Tequila Interchange Project (TIP) was founded in 2010 by agave icon David Suro. A mentor to many in the industry, David founded the organization with an aim to advocate for traditional practices in the agave spirits industry, and to give voice to those stakeholders that are often overlooked in the marketplace. 

After undergoing a hiatus coming out of the pandemic, TIP reactivated mid-2024, and it has picked up right where it left off and then some. This year, the organization launched its first-ever research grant, awarded to Maria Magdalena Padilla del Muro, a Guadalajara-based graduate student currently exploring agroecology techniques implemented by raicilleros in the Cabo Corrientes region of western Jalisco. She hopes to evaluate which techniques can be scaled and implemented in the Tequila industry. 

Maintaining its commitment to agave conservation, TIP created the Tequila Interchange Project Conservation Grant. After an open call to non-profit groups dedicated to maintaining healthy agave populations, TIP awarded the grant to Tierra del Jaguar, a bi-national non-profit organization committed to preserving endangered jaguar habitat in the Rio Sahuaripa watershed of Northern Sonora. The winning proposal supports economic development in rural communities by training and paying community members to plant native agave angustifolia to help increase soil retention and maintain healthy biodiversity. While this inaugural giving initiative was limited to $5,000 per grant, TIP hopes to expand this program to dedicate $10,000 each to both research and conservation projects. Click here to learn more about both grant proposals!

In an effort to get back to its roots of education and support of the beverage industry, TIP will soon be rolling out its new Professional Development Program made possible by a grant awarded through the Slow Food International Negroni Week Fund. This program will provide members of the industry the opportunity to further explore agave spirits through one of three tracks: production/ecology, writing, and hospitality. The first of these tracks will roll out this winter in collaboration with spirits brand Zinacantan and its new agave residency program. TIP will select one applicant to receive a travel reimbursement and per-diem to help offset wages missed by participating in the residency program. Look for this program to launch in the next couple of weeks.

The second will include a writer in residence program. The selected candidate will be able to publish bi-monthly articles on the Tequila Interchange Website and learn how to start a career as a freelance writer. The third and final track will provide the selected applicant the opportunity to visit Guadalajara and learn about agave spirits from one of the best agave bars in the world, Mezonte. They will also receive the opportunity to stage at one of Mezonte’s sister bars to learn how they incorporate agave spirits into their bar programs and communicate about them with their customers. More information can be found here.

Support is vital to these programs, and TIP cannot continue it’s work without dedicated agave enthusiasts like yourselves. Please consider making an end of the year, tax deductible donation to the Tequila Interchange Project. 

Saludos,

Susan and the Mezcalistas team